


A New Life

by kaylee_wolf



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-02-27 02:06:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18729526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaylee_wolf/pseuds/kaylee_wolf
Summary: When Kairi Davis was young, she was told she was troubled.Troubled for killing small animals. It was always things that were considered vermin, like mice and rats that weren't supposed to be in the house.  She didn't know what she was doing was wrong because her parents killed them too. She at least made it quick.She was sent to Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth.She was told that she chattered too much, but she made friends even with the constant talking of hers. And the school was nice enough. Teachers were alright, but her favorite part of the school was Rosie.The dog was very sweet and even stayed loyal to the kids after the adults betrayed them. The world went to shit and the dog stayed when her owner wouldn't. But even then, they were just children in a world full of terrifying monsters that were coming after them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyy, so this was supposed to be a one-shot x-reader thingie, but I can't help myself, so it's gonna be the whole season & w/ my OC!! I hope I do this well!!
> 
> (Spoiler!!)
> 
> This is gonna be an AU where nobody (except the walkers and Delta) dies! Even Marlon gets to live, I promise. Especially Mitch. He may or may not be disabled, but he'll be a hero.

It had been years since the apocalypse began. How many was it again? Nobody knew anymore. Keeping track was too difficult when you were just trying to survive. But even survival had its point where your morals took over. There was a car crash that day. Hell, everyone assumed that all the cars in the world were destroyed, so that was a surprise in itself. The weirdest part was that there were kids in there. A little boy and then a girl about Kairi's age.

Marlon went out and rescued them. Brought them back. Even after they didn't have enough to eat.

When the girl woke up, she seemed uncomfortable. Wasn't unexpected, but they did just save her life. Kairi decided to introduce herself; be nice. Well, it went as to be expected, uneventful. After Marlon and Willy left to off some walkers.

"Hey, Clementine, right?" the brunette asks, smiling. Her teeth were somewhat crooked because she didn't wear her retainer after her braces were taken off.

The girl, whose eyes were a golden amber color, responds nervously. "Yeah."

"Your kid is in the piano room with Louis. I can take you there if you'd like."

Clementine accepts the offer, visibly relaxing once they start walking. It was easy to find Louis since he was currently playing the piano. It wasn't the best, but the instrument hadn't been tuned since the adults left. It was sad that nobody was taught to do that. Music would sound much better. When they reached the corridor that led to the piano room, Ruby, a hotheaded redhead who's an honestly good person, rushed out holding her finger.

"Gah! You little motherfucker!" she shouts, rushing up to Clementine. "Hey! HEY! Your little boy just _bit_ me!"

"I'm so sorry, that's nothing like him. I'll talk to him."

She continues down the hall, mumbling to herself. The two look at each other and Clementine stands in the doorway, watching the boy as he watched Louis played the piano in fascination. It made Kairi wonder if he'd never seen a piano before. Or did the world go to shit that long ago? He turned around as the door creaked and his face lit up.

"Clem!" The two rush to hug each other, and it was quite adorable. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I am! And you know what you are?"

"What?" he asks with a smile, just happy to see Clementine alive.

"Ticklish!" she exclaims as she starts to tickle him. His giggles made Kairi think back to when her mom babysat the neighbors' kids. They always sounded like it was the best thing in the world. 

"Hey! I watched your kid for you."

She smiles and thanks him, saying that she hoped he didn't give any trouble and then introduces herself. Meanwhile, the kid turns to look at Kairi shyly as he tugs on Clem's jacket to get her attention. She wraps an arm around him and brings him closer as she and Louis continue their conversation. The kid wiggles free as Clementine spots her bad lying next to the table.

Kairi sits beside Louis and faces Clementine as she digs through the backpack for their weapons. "So, what's your name, kid? Is it another type of fruit, like Apple or something?"

"No. My name is AJ."

"So... Apple Jack. Like the My Little Pony chick."

AJ turns to Clem with a confused look, "What's that?"

"An old cartoon. I think it was a game at some point too," she responds, picking up a revolver and handing it to the kid.

Kairi laughs and ends up snorting when the kid takes it. Louis stops playing the notes abruptly, "Um?" When AJ looks closer at it, he comments on how it's dirty but ends up putting it in his back pocket anyway. "Double um? Dude, that can't be a good idea. Does he even know what that is?"

Clementine rolls her eyes, "Yeah, and I bet he's a better shot than you."

"Oooh!" Kairi exclaims, very pleased with their visitors' sass. "I think Violet has some competition for sass levels. Who's telling her?"

Louis shakes his head, "Kai, he's a tot."

"Yeah, Lou, a tot who knows how to shoot, apparently. Fuckin' love it, lil' dude." She giggles, accidentally pressing a few keys when she falls back. "You got any bullets in that thing?"

"Only a few," he shrugs.

"Ah, too bad. Hey, Louis, can you play your other song for us?" she asks as she suddenly remembers the girl's name. A coincidence that could possibly turn out to be hilarious.

"I would, but she's armed."

Both of the girls look at him with a disappointed look, so he raises his hands and begins to play. Kairi liked the sound of his voice, even if everyone else told him to shut the fuck up when he sang. 'Oh, My Darling' was her favorite song, too. Her dad always sang it with her mother's name, but he also stopped before the death and whatnot, so it was really just that part.

As soon as Louis started to sing, Clementine's face fell. "Oh, my God," she mutters under her breath. She let him finish the song without objection but was laughing nervously at the end of it all. However, the awkwardness is broken when Marlon bursts in. He asks about Rosie before apologizing to Clementine and asking if she'd help take out some walkers.

It was a no-brainer, of course. Louis and Kairi head for their respective weapons - a chair leg full of nails and a spear. It wasn't the most effective, but it worked as both a melee _and_ ranged weapon, so it was at least multi-purpose. 

As they reach the gates, the brunette nudges Clementine to get her attention for a moment. "Thanks for helping out. And by helping out, I mean not stabbing Louis when he started singing."

"Least I can do, right? You guys saved our lives."

"Well, it was mostly Marlon. Guy's fucking amazing with a bow. He took out the walkers and grabbed little Apple Jack." The girl tosses her spear from one hand to the other. She watches as Willy opens the gate and then says one final thing to Clem. "Just remember that he's a good guy. He's been protecting us ever since the adults left and we all owe him big time."

She then rushes ahead to throw the spear right at a walker's head, hitting its face dead on. Kairi catches up with her weapon and tears it out of the walker, then she uses it to slam a zombie to the ground and smash its head in. It took five hits until its skull split open, but she hit it a sixth time to make sure it stayed down. Another got a bit too close and she launched the spear into its eyeball and heard Marlong saying everyone would meet the hunting party halfway.

Kairi kicked the walker off on her weapon and ran after the rest of the group. It seemed to be the same for every walker. Stab, beat, stab until they were all gone. However, Aasim being Aasim, he got caught off guard and rescued by the new girl. And then Rosie came running to crush the walker's head, as she often did at the best of times.

The one thing that didn't make sense was how Clem backed away in fear. She had no problem stabbing a walker, something that looked almost human, to death, but was scared of a dog. In order to save the day for someone, Kairi ran up to the canine and scratched her behind her ears and cooed as everyone caught up to them. She wasn't going to let the new girl's reputation be ruined so early on. She could get a few weeks, at best.

She didn't pay attention until she heard Violet start talking shit.

"It's like something drew their attention. Like, I dunno a car crash or an explosion."

"Look, I'm really sorry about that. I really didn't think we'd crash."

Violet turns away, looking somewhat guilty and mutters how it's fine. Kairi smiles to herself, noticing that she warmed up to Clem remarkably quickly. It was nice to see her talking to someone, even if it just an apology. "Don't worry about it, Clem. Even before this shit happened, car wrecks happened. It happened, we'll live through it."


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone got settled fairly quickly after the hunting party was brought back inside the walls. Ruby was standing alone next to a fire, Mitch and Willy were talking about weapons, Louis was with Omar, Violet and Tenn were paying respects, and Brody was sitting with Marlon and Rosie. However, Kairi was more interested in the new guys than just talking about dinner and grieving. She'd watched AJ punch Marlon after the idiot came up behind him.

"Don't worry about it, kid. They'll understand."

He shifts uncomfortably and turns to Clementine, "I don't think they like me."

"They will. They just have to get to know you, right?" she says, smiling. She seemed a tad bit over-optimistic for it being the apocalypse, but it was true. He was a little kid and nobody wanted to hurt the little guy.

The brunette glances to the side and sees Louis waving her over. "I'll leave you guys to it. See you." She rushed over to him happily and took a deep breath as the scent of the stew Omar was making. "Smells good, Chef Omar. How much longer?"

She was ignored with the exception of an eye-roll. "You like the new girl, Kai?" Louis asks, messing with his coat like he often did.

"I like her kid, that's for sure. Reminds me of Cyrus. He put a bug in my milk at lunch that one time, remember?" she chirps. They never really got sad when talking about memories of the kids that died. It was more like they were able to be happy whenever they remembered.

"Yeah, that was disgusting. My favorite part was when you dumped the rest of it over his head."

They laugh together as Clem and AJ come up to them. Louis greets the two and introduces them to Omar, who then says something about patience and grumbles about how it wasn't done yet. "We'll call you guys over once it's done," Kairi says enthusiastically. She turns to Louis with a smile as they walk away. "Okay, I'll admit... I'm jealous of her lashes. They're really fucking pretty."

"That's what you noticed?" he asks with shock. "Her eyelashes?"

"Sir, yes, sir. Again, really fucking pretty. I wonder if she found mascara somewhere." The brunette taps her chin to dramatize the fact she was thinking. "By the way, I think she's scared of dogs. So... use that to your advantage."

"What?!" Louis exclaims in a high-pitched voice. 

Kairi crosses her arms and raises a brow, "You're not subtle when it comes to showing your feelings. You like her, dude."

Before he could retaliate, Omar says that the food's done, so he shouts to Clem and AJ to let them know. As promised. They essentially followed everybody else to the dinner table and were happy to wait for a nice, warm meal. They both seemed to be bouncing with excitement even as they were seated. AJ downed his stew and got it all over his face and looked sad as he looked at Clem.

She said that they shared as much as they could, but Louis obviously felt bad. Nobody was surprised when he handed his bowl over with his trademark smile. The kid downed that bowl as well and commented on how he was all done afterward, which was adorable. Not so suddenly, Louis whips out a stack of cards, starts to go on about the game War, and with that, the rules were laid out. If one of the Ericson kids won, they ask Clem a question, but if Clem one, she got to ask them a question.

They started the game and everyone flipped over a card; Violet wins. "Way to go me! So about Aj... Where're his parents? You two don't really look related, so...What happened there?

"They're dead. They were nice people. For the most part."

Louis pipes up, "It makes sense. He's a nice kid."

"For the most part," Clementine emphasizes.

They draw again and this time, the new girl wins. "Hey, I win!"

"Hey, you do!" the musician of the group exclaims. "So what do you want to know?"

"You guys meet anyone famous out there?" she asks, glancing down at her hands. Kairi's interest is peaked because nobody would ask that question if they didn't have a tale of their own. Violet just deadpans a hard 'no' while Louis goes on about how it's too bad. "I met a guy that used to be a baseball player. Like, for money."

Exactly what she was looking for. "What was his name?" the blue-eyed girl asks, leaning forward. 

"His name was Javier Garcia. Everyone just called him Javi, though."

"Oh, my God. I actually know who you're talking about. Was he any good at baseball? I mean, it's been years."

She shrugged, "Dunno. We never got to play. He was good with a bat, though."

Violet starts up again, saying how baseball sucks, which, of course, Louis retaliates with a very wise 'you suck.' They stop there and flip another card; Louis won.

He hesitates before the sweet little Violet tells him to spit it out. "So, uh...ever, uh...ever have a boyfriend?"

"Oh, my God!" the blond exclaims, hitting the table lightly.

"What? It happens! Perfectly valid question."

Clementine opens her mouth and closes it quickly, looking at her cards. "I... met a boy once." She was poked to go on. "And we were... friends."

"Just friends? nothing else? Nothing at all?"

"Hah! No! He was such a huge dork!" she exclaims, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Oh, dude, you fucking LOVED him, huh?" Louis teases. In return, Clem shouts a high-pitch no. "This is adorable."

Everyone flips another card and this time, Marlon wins.

"So, Clem... You can't have been alone this entire time. Who used to take care of you?" he asks, looking sympathetic. "Your family? Anyone?"

She hesitates again. It looks like it was hard to share bits of her past even if she could enjoy herself. Silence stung the air for a few seconds before she spoke. "The first person who taught me about survival was Lee." She looked nostalgic at the mention of his name. Marlon, being as nosy as any teen, asked what the most important thing he taught her was and she actually smiled. "How to shoot a gun."

"Useful stuff."

"Yeah. I taught AJ the same way, too."

Kairi sighs happily before she interrupts. "Y'know, that kid is lucky. He has you and you adore him." Clem just looks over at AJ, a small grin resting on her face. They flip another card and Kairi wins this time. "I'll ask this on Vi's behalf since I know she loved this question. Out of the five of us, who do you think is gonna die first?"

For once, it seems like a question that she enjoys. "Louis. Definitely."

They all repeat a chorus of 'definitely,' including Louis himself. "What? I'd have said the same."

They flip their final cards and Louis confidently announces that he won. He begins his question, but chickens out. Violet and Clem both egg him on, but he insists it's not a fun question. "Ever... Ever had to _kill_ someone you loved?"

The heavy blanket of the atmosphere draped over their shoulders as she began to answer. "Yeah, my friend, Kenny."

"What happened? Like... What led up to it?" Louis pries.

"His heart broke and never put itself back together. Believe me, I did him a favor." The group is silent for a moment before Clem pushes herself up. "I think I'm done playing for tonight."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Marlon says as everyone bids her goodnight.

As she walks over to AJ, Louis exclaims that they wanted him to ask. "Look, it's over and done with," Kairi says with a stubborn smile. "Marlon, you should show them inside. They need some sleep."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tryna stay true to everyone's character, but I don't know if I'm doing a great job, so... Feel free to comment about what I'm doing wrong!
> 
> Anyway, I didn't think just the first episode would be split into more than 2 parts, but it is! So, the next part is the end of the first ep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning came and Kairi was hanging out in her bedroom as she thought about the new girl. She was a badass, any one of them would admit that but they were low on food; Marlon knew that, so he must've had a plan. Being the nosy teenager she is, of course, she wanted to know exactly what it was, but Marlon was never one to talk about his plans for the future. However, her thoughts were rudely interrupted when her door was thrown open by Ruby.

"Wake up, ya sleepy head!" the redhead exclaims. "You are so goddamn lazy."

Kairi rolls her eyes and sits up, crossing her legs. "Rude much? I was thinking, lady."

"I don' give a shit! E'erybody got shit to do and you ain't gettin' outta it!" she growls. "The hunting parties already left!"

The brunette groans, throwing back her head and getting it whacked in the process. She didn't notice the newspaper in Ruby's hand, which is usually a fatal mistake. "My God, are you serious right now, Ruby?! I'm not a dog! Don't hit me with a newspaper!"

"Then get up when I tell you to!"

"Fine, _MOM_!" She gets smacked again before Ruby stomps out of the room, but is able to block it before she actually gets hit. The newspaper comes flying into her room and makes her yelp out of surprise. It gave her the motivation to get up nonetheless. An angry Ruby was not a fun Ruby. She gets up from her bed slowly and groans as she sees Ruby glaring at her from the hallway. "I'm up now! I promise!"

Kairi crosses her arms and stomps out of the room. Even if they argued in the morning, they made up by the time the hunting parties got back. It was almost like they were mom and daughter, except they were almost the same age. She grumbles under her breath as she opens the door to see duffle bags with jars of food spilling out of them. Ruby is right behind her and follows her line of sight. "Holy shit..."

The two of them hurry over and start their own line of questioning just like the other kids, at least before Brody comes along and questions Clementine threateningly. Everyone became weirded out since Brody was usually really sweet, so they dispersed a little. Kairi, though, she wanted to know what triggered the sudden aggression in their sweet, little Brody. 

She completely lost it when Louis mentioned a stranger. Marlon came over, as he always did when fights started to break out, but this time he acted differently. He seemed like he was actually upset about whatever she was talking about. But it was when Brody pushed him that really shocked everyone. It was also when Kairi decided to speak up.

"Both of you, chill the fuck out!" she hollers. She felt like she was in the Jurassic Park movie where the dude was holding off three velociraptors. "God! Brody, take a breath and go to your room. Marlon, you need to do the same."

She watched them with a strict eye as they followed her instructions. "What the hell just happened?" Violet asks, making a dramatic gesture.

The brunette turns around with a smile that seemed confused, "I have no fucking clue. Did I handle it well?"

"Uh, I think so?" Clem responds. "They listened."

"Yeah, yelling is more of Ruby's thing. She even hit me with a newspaper earlier..." Kairi mumbles, rubbing her cheek lightly. "Anywho, let's get a few of these to Omar, yeah?"

-

When it started storming, everyone went to bed.

It wasn't even a few hours after that fact that a shouting match began. It was louder than the thunder that shook the sky, so it woke everyone up. Each person came out to witness the horror that was AJ pointing a loaded gun at Marlon. The fact that the kid knew what he was doing made it all the more terrifying when he placed his finger on the trigger. 

The only sound was Rosie's barking and the thunder until the kid narrowed his eyes and shouted at Marlon. "Where is she?!"

Kairi was frozen in fear until she heard the wildest accusation she'd ever heard. "She - She murdered Brody!"

"Hey, Marlon! You should see about getting your story straight!" Clem shouts, helping said 'dead-girl' stumble up to the group.

The only thoughts running through their heads was that there's no way it's real. No _fucking_ way that any of it was happening. No fucking way it was _happening_. It only became real again when Marlon grabbed the gun out of AJ's hand and starts waving it around. It brought a bit of reality to everyone when the barrel of a gun hovers over them.

Time seemed sped up and eventually, they got to the point where Marlon broke down. "I was trying to _protect_ you!"

"By waving a loaded gun around?!" Clem responds, pointing at the gun he had in his hand. She looked at Violet, "Vi, help me out here!"

The girl felt bad, you could see it from a million miles away, but she wasn't sure about anything. She was unsure and looked to at the situation before her, thunder and Rosie once again being the only sounds. Violet remembered exactly what Brody said about how he'd give them away to keep himself safe.

"I can't believe you, Marlon," the blond growls, rain streaming down her face in combination with tears. "I really... Can't."

The gun falls from his hand as the other kids start agreeing and stepping forward. His broken apologies were heard, but the only thing Kairi saw was AJ picking up the gun again. Except, it didn't go back where he usually carried it.

It went aimed at Marlon's head.

Suddenly, she felt like she was glued to the ground. Marlon may have made mistakes, but he didn't deserve to die. It was when his finger was moving for the trigger that she finally made a move. As terrified as she was, there was no way an innocent person about to die. She rushed forward and grabbed the end of the gun, yanking it out of his hand. It wasn't smart, but who really was when the adrenaline was rushing?

"AJ, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Clementine screams, rushing up to him looking ready to slap him silly. "He wasn't hurting anyone! Why would you aim a gun at him?!"

He looked ready to cry, but he did answer. "I was scared!"


	4. Chapter 4

Clementine and AJ went to bed as soon as the first person freaked out. Violet waving her meat cleaver at everyone who started shouting and all. It seemed unreasonable to freak over a kid being scared, but they all knew that kid knew what he was doing. He knew that shooting someone in the head would kill them, just like it would a walker.

Surprisingly, it was Louis who tried to calm everyone down. "Hey, guys, let's just try to help Brody right now. She's hurt remember?"

Brody was still holding her hand to her head, obviously seething with anger toward Marlon, and was still bleeding. It looked bad, but she was still able to talk, so it wasn't too bad, right?

A switch got flipped inside everyone's head when they heard Louis. Yes, Brody was injured. She needed help. Right.

Ruby was first to assess the situation. She was somehow calm after the whole ordeal and told someone to go get the first-aid kit from her room. Everyone knew head injuries look worse than they are, but there was still that chance that it _was_ as bad as it looked. She wiped away the fresh blood and gave a relieved sigh when she saw it was a small cut. She checked Brody's pupils and they were evenly dilated, which warranted another sigh of relief. "How you feelin'?" she asks, her hands on Brody's arms.

"I'm fine, Ruby."

"Does your cut hurt?" she insists.

"A little."

Willy comes back with the small first-aid kit and everyone looks to Ruby again. She takes the container and stands up. "Someone help me get her inside."

Mitch moves forward and extends his hand to Brody, who then takes it. She was going to be fine and that was enough for everyone. Nobody else moved except for those three, but they all looked at Marlon, wondering how the person they trusted to lead them was willing to trade _people_ for safety. Even if it was just a mistake, he knew that the trust he gained was gone for good.

Hell, he even looked sorry.

"Guys, let's go inside," Aasim mutters, giving only a sideways glance to Marlon. "We'll freeze out here."

They all agree, but when their former leader gets up he lags behind only to get the door slammed in his face. He didn't bother trying to open it until Rosie nudged his leg. She looked up at him and whined as she shifted from one leg to the other. It was nice that someone still trusted him, at least.  Marlon unhooked her from the rope and opened the door, letting her inside after him.

He usually roomed with Louis, so he really didn't want to go back to his room, but he didn't know what else to do. Alone-time wasn't exactly something he was used to and going back into the basement didn't seem like such a great idea. 

"What do you think, Rosie?" he asks the canine. Her only response was a low grumble before she bounded up the steps to greet Violet.

The girl pets the dog and scowls at Marlon. She turns around and pushes open the door to the headmaster's office. She says something into the room and he can only watch as Clementine comes out of the room. She only looked like she pitied him. She quickly went down the steps and walked up to Marlon, showing that her hands were empty.

"Come with me. I wanna talk to you in private." She even holds out a hand to him. 

He doesn't take it, but he does follow her when she walks away. From his perspective, she should hate him. Want to kill him, even. She should want anything but to be kind. When they enter the headmaster's office, he can hear Violet mutter something under her breath before she storms away. Clementine sits down in his chair and looks at him with more pity.

"I talked with everyone already. They want you out, but I'm going to help you out. I let you stay, but you're going to be our prisoner." God, how he wished he could be that level-headed. She didn't seem fazed by anything. "AJ and I are going to change rooms and you get to stay in ours. AJ will bring you food and water every day, but you don't get to leave the room."

He nods. Mumbles that he understands.

"You're lucky. Brody said you made a mistake and that made everyone remember that you were still one of them."

He looks up, focusing on the mini lighthouse on the desk. "You're better at this than I ever was."

-

Kairi and Ruby were sitting with Brody and trying to get the whole story. You'd figure with her being there the whole time she'd remember what happened, but there were only vague details. All of them were ready to call it quits when AJ came into the room followed by an out of breath Violet. It looked like the kid was protesting having to stay in his room.

"Hey, Apple Jack. What's going on?" the brunette asks, relieved to not be keeping track of details she couldn't make heads or tails of. 

"I'm bored," he responds, sitting next to Brody. "And Clem is talking to Marlon so I can't go bother her."

Violet catches her breath and sits at the desk to put her head down. "Why don't you go to sleep?" the blond sighs. "That way you aren't bored and you get rested for tomorrow."

"I don't wanna."

-

"What do you mean?"

He scoffs, "You're braver. Level-headed."

"That doesn't make me better." He was surprised to hear her say that, especially with the confidence she had. "It just means that I'm willing to do what you wouldn't and that just happens to be fighting."

Marlon looks down at the ground again, brows furrowed. "I wanted to save them. Stage a rescue or something. But... I got scared and just told everyone they were dead."

"And now you're paying for that," Clem says, looking to the cracked door where Rosie was obediently laying. "Just keep Rosie with you until everything calms down. Please."

-

Clementine is the next to enter Brody's room. She finds AJ passed out while leaning against Violet and smiles at the sight. "Hey, new girl!" Kairi greets excitedly. "Wanna join our sleepover?"

"Uh... Sure?" she responds. "Don't they usually mean games that aren't for kids, though?"

"Tenn is setting up his room so the boys can have a sleepover, too," Brody mumbles. She had more color in her cheeks since warming up, which made her look more alive. "I think it'll be good for them. Boys need to be boys once in a while"

"Yeah, I guess they do."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up some last names for the kids, so I'll tell you them up here.
> 
> Clementine Everett (she took Lee's last name)  
> AJ Everett (Clem gave him Lee's last name)  
> Louis Jirani  
> Violet Cardarelli  
> Brody Wallace  
> Mitch Hussain  
> Willy Navarrow  
> Tennesee Green  
> Omar Reynolds  
> Ruby Young  
> Aasim Sulemani  
> Kairi Davis  
> Marlon Booth

"Hey, Vi!" Kairi exclaims, waving down the blond. "Where's the new girl and her kid?"

"They went to patrol the safe zone. Why?" the girl asks, crossing her arms and furrowing her brows.

Kairi shifts uncomfortably, "It's Marlon. I... heard him crying in his room. I just... I don't know if I could go in there and not be angry. Clem could."

"Ugh, just let him. He doesn't deserve sympathy!"

This made the brunette feel disgusted. Even if he did lie to them for a year, it was a mistake. He was terrified like they all were at some point in their lives. They were all still kids. They weren't adults even if they felt like they were. They were children and children make mistakes. "Whatever. Just... Tell her what I said, alright?"

She walked away as calmly as she could, taking deep breaths as she started laughing. It wasn't because she was entertained or anything, it was because she was angry. Sympathy was something everyone needed, whether it be for an injury or because they're just upset, they still need it. She storms to the piano room grabs a pillow to scream into before she notices Louis sitting at the piano.

"What's going on, Kai?" he asks, a little curious and a little worried.

"Violet is what's going on! She hates Marlon! And, y'know, I get it, but he was scared, for Christ's sake!" She starts rambling on about how it wasn't fair that his mistake cost him a social life and that he deserved to at least have someone to talk to.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I talk to him?" he asks, hands on her shoulders to stop her from wrecking the room. "He's got someone, okay?"

Kairi looks up at him and smiles, "Okay."

-

Violet started pacing not too long after Kairi went back inside. She was getting worried about Clem and AJ because they said they were just going to the road and back. They should've finished the back part by now. It only took a few minutes before she got irritated and ran to get Louis. "Get your weapon, we're leaving," she deadpans, Marlon's bow already over her shoulder and arrows on her hip.

"Okay?" he says cautiously. The confusion was the strongest thing he felt, but he also felt like he was being bossed around. "Do I get an explanation?"

"On the way." She shrugs as she turns and starts to speedwalk to the gate. It wasn't like her, but Louis wasn't going to risk an injury from her. Violet was pacing at the gate, arms crossed and eyes glaring at the ground. Once Louis comes close enough for her to see him, she rushes out of the courtyard and keeps laser-focused on where she knew the road was.

Louis tries to keep up but is left behind with no explanation.

Violet, on the other hand, was scanning the trees as she ran along the trail to the road. This continued until she heard Clem yell for AJ in the distance. It was a scared, desperate yell that you only hear from a mother. This made the blond stop dead in her tracks and allow Louis to catch up in just a few seconds.

"Hey -"

He's cut off as she shushes him and takes the bow off of her shoulder and loads it with an arrow. She doesn't draw it until the two of them are in position and have a good shot. Clementine doesn't notice them, but she does end up relaxing when the woman, who had just had a boot to the girl's neck, recognizes her. The girl notices the two of them and looks panicked.

She looks from AJ to Abel and cups her hands around her mouth to shout. "RUN!"

Violet looks surprised and listens. She felt like a coward. A coward who could've just shot anyway. Louis felt the same. He could've done _something_ \- anything. Yet, they did nothing but run.

-

They returned in about ten minutes, close to tears and legs shaking. They both heard Clementine tell them to run. She was more worried about them than she was for herself. It made Violet feel helpless and Louis had no idea how he felt. It was an empty feeling, he knew that much. However, they were soon rushed by the two girls who both had worried looks on their faces.

Ruby made sure that they weren't physically injured and helped them to one of the picnic tables to calm them down. Kairi helped as well, but she ended up standing around awkwardly until the two started to talk. It was Louis who started, obviously.

"She told us to run." He glanced up at the two girls and looked over at Violet who was holding back tears. "Vi was ready to shoot and then Clementine told us to run, so we did."

"Wait," Ruby interrupts, waving her hands around. "Shoot who?"

He shrugged, "There were two adults... One of 'em was a lady and she had her foot on Clementine's neck to hold her down. Maybe her?"

Violet started shaking when she thought about that woman again. "We need to look for Clem and AJ. They're still out there."

"Vi, there's nothing we can do," Kairi admits. They had no idea where to even begin looking, especially if they ran. And yelling in the woods wasn't an idea that anyone was willing to entertain. "We'll have to wait until morning. We'll be able to avoid walkers once it's light."

"No! We have to, Kai!" She started shouting and looked terrified. "Please..."

The final plead broke her heart, but she shook her head. "Violet, we can't."

Ruby helps the blond up to get her to bed. Brody was still resting from what happened the night before, so at least she wouldn't be alone. Meanwhile, Kairi stayed with Louis for some comfort. He was never good about these types of things, even before the apocalypse. If he felt like he made something bad happen, he would be in a funk the next two days.

"Hey, Lou," she says quietly, bumping against his shoulder. "Wanna play a game before bed, just the two of us? It'll calm your nerves."

He starts to shake his head but quickly stops to nod. "Sure."

"Gimme your cards, Jirani," she says, holding out her hand. "We'll play good, old-fashioned Go Fish."

That makes him scoff, but he digs into his pocket and hands over a stack of cards. Kairi shuffles them gently as she hums turning to face Louis on the bench. She crosses her legs and starts dealing. One to Louis, one to her back-and-forth.

"Any special rules?" he asks, holding his cards so that they face the ground. Kairi shakes her head with a smile, placing down the rest of the stack down. "Good. If you make rules, they get confusing as all hell."

"Got any threes?"

"Go fish, Davis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm going to make a medieval fantasy/royalty AU! I got no idea when I'll post it, but it'll be sometime soon after this part is posted.
> 
> Anyway, Duck will appear in *this* story! Don't know when, but he will! I kept so many kids alive and I'm proud. (BTW, if you have any questions about how he was kept alive, just ask!)


End file.
